Nintendo Minute: Vol. 37

In IGN's Nintendo Minute series, executives from NOA stop by to answer one of our questions. In the past, our inquiries have been answered by subsidiary president and COO Reginald Fils-Aime, VP of marketing and corporate affairs Perrin Kaplan or SVP of marketing and corporate communications George Harrison.

Readers can make their voice heard by sending us an e-mail and submitting a question for Nintendo of America's elite to answer. If we agree that the question is an important one, we'll pass it along and try to get it answered.

Last week, we wrote an editorial that took a critical look at Nintendo's lack of hype for Metroid Prime 3. We recently chatted with NOA's Perrin Kaplan about the piece and asked what the company had planned for Corruption in the next few weeks and beyond. Here's what she had to say:

Matt, I only wish we could have answered this question before you posted your long commentary on marketing for Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. We read it with great interest. It says to us that you care, you love the franchise and you just want more. But it was also a bit conspicuous and disappointing that while you gave great prominence to your editorial, your site then ignored the free, exclusive Metroid Prime 3 Preview videos once they appeared in the WiiWare section of the Wii Shop Channel.

[Editor's note: In our defense, we did post the Metroid VC news and the new videos from the Metroid Preview Channel along with analyses for both.]

Nevertheless, here we are and there are a few things we want readers to know. First, we obviously care greatly about Metroid Prime 3. We made a conscious decision to give people a peek inside the world of Metroid Prime 3 a bit closer to launch, instead of bombarding them for many months. It's just a different way of doing things, and surprise is the key.

We could have told you about the surprise Metroid Prime 3 Preview videos ahead of time, but then they wouldn't have been much of a surprise, would they? All that Wii owners have to do is update their Wii systems to Version 3 and voila, you find a cool treat for all Metroid Prime fans. Finding it that way, frankly, might add a bit of intrigue for those who aren't as familiar with the franchise.

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is for gamers who have enjoyed the franchise in the past, as well as those who have yet to discover the fun of the Metroid Prime universe. It's a great way to experience the Wii Remote, whether you are a novice player or whether you are male or even female. I know that after just a few minutes with it, players will never look at a first-person game quite the same way again.

To answer one of your other comments, we still have a lot of our more traditional marketing efforts planned. People will see it all shortly, from ads to many of the usual tactics we use to support our key products. Plus: a few more surprises like the Metroid Prime 3 Preview. And no, I'm still not going to spoil the fun and tell you about it ahead of time!